


Love kills

by renjuniesichengs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2020-09-29 22:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20443829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renjuniesichengs/pseuds/renjuniesichengs
Summary: Ever since Renjun lost his parents in an unfortunate accident, he has been leading a life of crime. Although it started off small, he eventually ended up joining a gang. While Juggling university and gang related activities, Renjun meets a classmate named Jaemin in strange circumstances. Renjun however will have to choose between Jaemin and his line of work; which will it be?





	1. 1.

**Author's Note:**

> tw// violence/blood
> 
> there is physical violence and mention of blood

It was a Sunday evening and rather than doing something like preparing for the first day of university, Renjun was pacing up and down the hallway in front of his boss’s office. He was dressed in dark apparel with his hood resting on his head along with a dark face mask covering his nose and mouth. It wasn’t long until the door opened and an orange haired boy walked out. The boy smirked slightly and nudged Renjun as he walked by.  
“Sup Huang?”

“Lele,” Renjun responded to him almost immediately, patting his shoulder. “Nothing, will see you later though.” Renjun returned a grin although it was barely noticeable because of his mask. 

“Yup. Stay safe.” 

And with that, Chenle had disappeared down the hallway out of Renjun’s sight. Renjun was rather fond of Chenle and saw him as a younger brother. Sometimes he wished that Chenle wasn’t involved in this dangerous line of work but no matter how much convincing Renjun tried, it had no effect on the boy.  
Dismissing the thoughts, he walked up to the bodyguard standing in front of the door to the boss’s office. Without a word, the bodyguard moved out of the way and Renjun proceeded to knock on the door twice before entering. It wasn’t a very well lit room but it was brightened by the city lights peering in through the open window. He could see his boss sitting in the huge, maroon chair facing the window. The room was slightly cloud filled and smelled of smoke. Coughing slightly, Renjun started to get down to bow but was stopped by the boss. 

“Sit down and stop wasting my time Huang. What do you need this time?”

Renjun timidly sat down on the sofa before the desk and cleared his throat. “Well sir..I was hoping you had work for me. Anything. I can do anything.” He nodded slowly at first, trying to convince himself of what he was saying. ‘Anything’ wasn’t something he could just throw around without having any consequences or especially with the boss. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and he was desperate for sure.

“Anything except killing,” The boss laughed heartily, coughing as he did. “You crack me up boy. I tell you this every time, yet you come back with the same bullshit. At this point you come and tell me jokes. Now get lost. I don’t have work for you unless you’re willing to kill someone..I doubt you have changed your mind yet so fast..Just get out of here,” The boss coughed again but a bit louder. “I told you I'd let you know if there were any jobs for you yet you’re back here not even a week later.” 

Renjun was trying to hold it together. He was so hungry and had been starving for days. He needed the money so badly, but his boss was right. He refused to kill anyone and that prevented his promotion. He just couldn’t do it,and he didn’t know if he would ever be able to do it. Renjun slowly rose back to his feet and walked out of the office without another word. He knew the result would be the same but each time this happened he managed to feel even worse with each visit.  
“Fuck..”  
Renjun rushed outside through the back doors of the building and started to head to his bike but suddenly his arm was pulled back. Not missing a beat, Renjun forcefully jerked his body back into the attacker and tried to slam him into the building but stopped himself to the sound of a familiar voice. Suddenly the orange haired boy came back into his view he sighed in relief. 

“Huang you could’ve killed me.” Chenle said in a half joking tone, which bothered Renjun especially since he noticed the undertones of the joke. “Actually...I mean.” Chenle tried to speak once again but was interrupted by a very upset Renjun. 

“Shut the hell up! I could’ve really hurt you. What the..What are you even doing out here like that?” Renjun spat, speed walking to his motorbike. He quickly started to put on his helmet and get on his bike without a second thought. He was hungry, angry, and in extreme frustration. Renjun had no time to deal with Chenle in this mood at this time of night. All he really wanted to do was go get some rest at this point. This was only one more step in slowing him down and it pissed him off. “You shouldn’t even be out so late. Take care of yourself and go home.” Renjun speedily turned on his motorbike and was about to take off, but was stopped once again by Chenle who had his foot under the wheel. 

“Let’s get some money. Follow me.” 

Without any questions Renjun and Chenle were cruising on their motorbikes throughout the city. Renjun was following closely after chenle ensuring that he wouldn’t lose him. They were on their way to a well known, wealthy club. It wasn’t on the best side of town though and there were blind spots where the camera’s couldn’t quite see. It was the perfect spot for them to pickpocket people coming out of the club which is what Chenle instructed they should do. It wasn’t long until the pair arrived at the club. They both put their bikes in places the camera couldn't see them. Chenle went ahead with the plan and started walking along the obvious drunk looking people. His plan of pretending to offer assistance but instead taking money and jewelry off of the clubbers was a success.  
Renjun was sitting across the street watching Chenle busy at work; it just looked too easy in his eyes. He took the other boy’s advice by just staying out of it for now. He knew Chenle was much more skilled and experienced at this then he was himself, however he wanted to get involved. He was so tired of sitting back to watch, but just as he thought that Chenle alerted that he was done and that they should leave now.  
“Okay but just hold on..That guy going over there..” Renjun started to say, pointing at some blond guy heading down the alleyway. “He looks rich, and he’s alone!” Renjun exclaimed, but got a disapproving look from Chenle. 

“Hurry up then. I’m leaving..I’m getting food and getting back home. Don’t use that knife unless you HAVE to.” Chenle put emphasis on every word he said before sprinting off to his motorbike and taking off.  
Without missing a beat, Renjun hurried across the street into the alleyway and was surprised to see the blond stranger still walking down this way alone. Taking out his knife, he slowly inched towards the stranger and waited till he was right behind him to speak.  
“G-Give me your money and you won’t get hurt,” Renjun stuttered slightly as he watched the stranger slowly reach in his pockets. “I’m not joking around with you..Hurry the hell up!” 

“You sound nervous. Is this your first time doing this?” 

Renjun was nervous and was surprised to hear this man wasn’t scared one bit. It was seriously making him sweat at this point but he didn’t want to back down..Not yet. Without a second thought, Renjun pushed the knife forward and ended up penetrating the other man’s skin momentarily. Hearing a groan of pain coming from the man was one thing, but when Renjun saw the man slide to the ground, he gasped loudly. He couldn’t believe he actually went through with the stabbing. Clearly shaken, Renjun quickly grabbed the wallet out of the man’s hand and then stuffed it in his pants pocket. One moment later he could hear footsteps behind him and they were fast. Soon enough he could hear another voice. 

“Jaemin!”

Renjun turned around to see another guy with blond hair rushing up behind him. He shakily dropped his knife but then picked it up quickly knowing that he didn’t have much time to react. “Shit!” Renjun cursed under his breath. He picked up the knife by the blade which cut his own hand. He started to make a dash for his motorbike as the other stranger chased after him. 

“Jeno! Help me dammit...Forget abou..”  
“But he fucking stabbed you!”

Renjun wanted to get out of there as soon as he could. He didn’t stick around to hear another word from the duo. The boy didn’t even think about turning back, although the guilt for a stranger he had just stole from was stuck in his head. He sped off onto the roads of the city hoping he got away in time.This also gave him time to clear out his thoughts and think, although all he could think about is what just happened. Adrenaline was pumping throughout his body, in fact so much that he forgot all of the pain in the hand he sliced. It was a 30 minute ride out of the city before he arrived back to the small apartment he and Chenle shared. He could already see Chenle’s bike by the front steps. Sighing in relief that the other boy was safe, he parked his bike next to the other’s and then headed up the stairs to apartment 7.It felt like nothing but home sweet home for the boy. Jamming the key in the lock, Renjun entered the apartment to see Chenle eating some chicken with some beer. The smell of the fresh fried chicken lured him over to the table. Without missing a beat Chenle jumped out of his seat and went over to Renjun. The boy had worry filled eyes and he didn’t even know what to say at first. 

“Took you long enough Huang. Thought you called it quits on life.” Chenle joked with a chuckle. His smile quickly faded when he saw the dried blood on Renjun’s hand. “What the hell..I thought I told you no knife unless it was necessary! Did you...Kill..” Chenle gulped as he saw Renjun reach in his pocket for the wallet. Chenle wished he would have stuck around instead of taking off immediately. The wallet was tossed onto the table and luckily for Renjun, there was a wad of cash in it. His predictions were right.

Renjun sighed shakily as he shook his head. “I don’t fucking know..I just..I just need to sleep. I have school tomorrow.” Slamming the bloody knife on the table, he began walking down the hallway. Although he was hungry, his concern over the stranger quickly overpowered the hunger. Renjun started to undress and headed straight to the shower, but Chenle quickly stopped him. 

“Renjun..”  
“Don’t call me by my name it’s so weird.”  
“Huang, will you be okay?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Goodnight Huang.”  
“Night Lele.”


	2. karma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw// harsh language  
sorry this is late

Chapter 2  
Renjun eyes opened as the sun was shining in his room through the small window. He rolled over on his side expecting to meet eyes with Chenle, but instead met eyes with the empty spot in Chenle’s place. It was a very small room as well as it being a small apartment, but Renjun didn’t mind at all since he and Chenle lived comfortably. He briefly wondered where that boy would head without saying anything first thing in the morning but he soon dismissed the thought. It was his first day of Uni and honestly didn’t think he would get to this point. He was thankful for it though. It was a long journey of pain and suffering and paying for school out of pocket, but he had done it and he was not going to let this opportunity go to waste. The thought of going hungry several nights for the sole reason of paying for school sometimes clouded his thoughts, but he made it. Exiting his room, he ventured towards the kitchen but saw a note resting on the table. His hand automatically reached for it and he picked it up and began to read the note.

_‘My dearest friend. Good luck at school today. Don’t forget how hard you have worked for this chance in your life. Never forget the hardships you went through for this. You have to do well no matter what happens. Lean on me for support and push through, brother. Much love._   
_ P.s. I made you porridge for school, take it with you._   
_ P.s.s be careful with your hand. You’re lucky the cut wasn’t that deep_

_-Lele.’_

Looking down at his bandaged hand, he sighed softly. Everything from last night started rushing to his head again. He stabbed someone..Trying to move on from that thought, Renjun smiled faintly at the letter and took the paper into his hands. Before he stuffed it into his pocket, he folded it neatly into four. A few moments later he decided to take a shower since he didn’t get the chance to do it last night. He let his clothes drop to the floor before entering the bathroom. Renjun reached inside the shower past the curtains to turn on the water. Luckily for them, they finally had enough money for heat, so there were no more cold showers. As he let the water run for a few moments he could feel the steam rising in the air and it made his body shiver. He hadn’t felt this sensation in so long and it was worth it. Renjun took a luxurious time in the shower and it happened that it was much longer than he thought. He didn’t care thought, it felt so nice.  
After dressing in a clean pair of jeans and white t-shirt, he threw his black hoodie over himself. He carefully packed his porridge into a small basket along with a pear. He then grabbed his book bag and headed outside the apartment. It didn’t take long for him to set up his basket on the motorbike so that it wouldn’t fall out while he was riding. Once everything was set up, he was off. The school luckily wasn’t that far away but since he lived a little out of the city limits, it was still around 30 minutes to get there. Upon arriving at the school, Renjun’s jaw dropped at how huge the school really was. He had been here once before but it was still shocking; he made it.  
Renjun didn’t intend on paying for parking so he found a tree outside of campus and locked up his bike. Afterwards he crossed the street again and made it back into the school. Luckily for him, he still had time to eat before class. He ventured into the busy cafeteria and sat down at an empty table. Renjun placed his lunch box onto the table and unzipped open. He pulled out the bowl of porridge and grabbed the spoon he had brought with him. Upon opening the lid on the bowl, the scent came up and hit him right in the face. To his surprise the porridge was still quite warm. Without wasting another moment, Renjun started to dig in the food and quite messily at that. He ate fast and sloppily but thankfully no one was sitting at that table. That was until two boys took a spot at the other end. There were also a small gathering of girls that took seats at the empty spots of the table. It looked like they were trying to get closer to the boys that sat down. Renjun ate slowly now just to gauge the situation. He wasn’t mad that they picked this table but he wondered out of all the tables available, why this one. Dropping that thought, he listened into the conversation.  
“Oppa, show us what happened!!”  
“Where is the cut?”

The girls were quite noisy and annoying as they pressed one of the boys to talk. One of the boys stood up at the head of the table. His hair was blond/platinum looking with a sort of blue highlight in it. Renjun didn’t know how to explain it but he looked familiar and dressed somewhat expensively.  
Anyways the boy standing up had lifted his shirt and revealed the bandage covering his wound on the side of his body. You could still see a tiny bit of blood that bled through. The table was in awe and a lot of the girls looked worried but also entranced looking at his well kept, fit body.

“I hope that guy dies. The guy that mugged you.” One of the girls spat as the rest of the girls agreed.

The boy put down his shirt and took his seat slowly as he chuckled. “He is less fortunate, that’s why he resorted to doing what he did. If I were in his position, would I do the same thing? Maybe.”

The other blond boy had a slight look of amusement on his face as he rose his eyebrows.

“Sounds like you’re forgiving him. If I ever find that fucker I’ll kill him myself.”

Renjun couldn’t help but overhear the whole conversation. He snickered to himself as he heard what the other boy had said. It was getting around that time where class was about to start so Renjun cleaned up his mess and packed up his breakfast. Before leaving the table, he made sure he had everything.

“Jaemin let’s go to class.”

Renjun froze in his tracks and went into deep thought. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded so familiar yet he couldn't come up of where he had heard it for the life of him. After dismissing the thought, he quickly made his way to his first class. Again, he looked for an empty seat towards the back of the class. Luckily no one was sitting back there. After taking a seat, Renjun decided to rest his eyes for a few minutes before class began. It was going well for the first couple of moments, that was until he heard the familiar voices of the cafeteria table right next to him. Immediately his eyes popped open and behold, the same exact people were there. This time the girls were all crowded around that ‘Jaemin’ kid while he was the only one seated. Renjun sighed heavily and that earned him a look from Jaemin and a few of the girls.

Jaemin didn’t really think about where he sat. He always took a seat near the back of the class and he somehow didn’t notice the brunette boy sitting next to him. After hearing the tense sigh, Jaemin awkwardly cleared his throat and looked at the girls that were in front of him.

“I’ll catch you ladies after class. It’s about to start.” Jaemin said and the girls whined as they left the classroom. He hesitantly looked back over to the brunette boy and was met with a soft but noticeable glare. It made his heart jump for some reason.

“Is there a problem?”  
“Yes, there is a problem.”

Renjun didn’t usually confront people head on like this but he knew if this kid was going to be in his class for the rest of the semester, he didn’t want this to happen again.

“Out of all the seats in this whole entire classroom, you decided to sit next to me?” Renjun sighed and then interrupted Jaemin before he could speak again. “And you bring a group of girls with you into class. What is this? high school? Do that shit somewhere else..It’s noisy.”

Jaemin stared back at the rude stranger as his jaw dropped. He was too astonished to speak back but he didn’t exactly want to back down either.

“Excuse me. Do you know who I am?”  
“No and don’t care WHO you are. I’m just going to move seats.”

And with that, Renjun gathered his stuff and pushed his chair in. He gave one more stare at the blond stranger before moving up two rows. Although that was his first interaction with someone at school today, he felt like he was doing okay so far. All he needed to do was pay attention in class and pass.

Jaemin sat in silence literally fuming with anger. He couldn’t believe a stranger had talked to him and rarely did he come across people like that boy. All Jaemin could do was stare at the back of Renjun’s head in anger before class started. Suddenly Jaemin whipped out his phone and opened his contacts to text Jeno.

Jaem: class hasn’t started and I already have a moron in my class **9:15**

Jeno: ?? **9:17**

Jaem: He’s so rude **9:17**

Jeno: What did he do **9:20**

Jaem: he like glared at me and told me I was annoying. Then he moved seats :/ **9:21**

Jeno:so **9:25**  
Jeno: I’d do the same thing to you **9:25**

Jaem: wow whatever. Bye **9:27**

Jaemin sighed sharply as he put his phone away. Class started soon after the incident yet all Jaemin could think about this stranger. He didn’t even know the guy’s name yet. That was going to change.  
“Excuse me teacher, can you call roll?”  
“Of course Jaemin.”

Renjun furrowed his eyebrows at the strange question. Well it wasn’t strange but he wondered why it was coming from him. It didn’t take long before Renjun’s name was called and he gave a casual ‘here’.  
Jaemin took note of that and quickly texted Jeno again.

Jaem: His name is Huang Renjun. **9:33**

  
Jeno: Huh?? Who? **9:34**

Jaem: Hello?? The rude guy I just told y o u about. >:( **9:37**

Jeno: O **9:38**  
Jeno: so what now buddy **9:39**

Jaem: It kind of sounds familiar right? **9:39**

Jeno:... **9:45**  
Jeno: Bruh idk. **9:45**

Jaem: It just does..**9:45**

Jeno: so ur telling me after he basically flipped u off u had a conversation? **9:50**

Jaem: no..I told the teacher to call roll so I could get it then. Smart move ik. **9:51**

Jeno: ur obsessed **9:55**  
Jeno: and weird **9:56**

Jaem: not even weird but ok **9:59**

Class was going well for Renjun. It was a music collaboration class and music was something Renjun really enjoyed. He took plenty of notes in his small notebook, making sure to get all the information he needed. On the other hand Jaemin was not totally paying attention. He was in between texting Jeno and then looking to see what Renjun was doing.  
Soon enough the end of class was nearing. The teacher stood up at her desk and turned on the projector.  
“Okay Class, This is a music collaboration class so take a guess at what we’re doing next..That’s right..” A few students sighed and groaned but Renjun had a look of genuine excitement on his face.  
“I chose your partners and it wasn’t random. This is based on the piece of music you turned in from your audition.” She started to explain, her eyes scanning the classroom. “You all have a very unique composition style so I put together all the opposites because frankly...Opposites attract!” The teacher had a soft chuckle at her words before continuing. “You and your partner will have to use your differences to create a beautiful piece of music. I’ve assigned this project 3 years in a row and nothing but beauty has come out of it. Now you have 3 weeks to turn in the finished project. This first week will be purely getting to know your partner and their style..Let’s see here...I’m going to put the pairs on the board.”The teacher made sure her projector was working and then quickly loaded the file onto the screen. The pairs suddenly popped up onto the screen.  
Renjun’s eyes frantically searched the screen as did Jaemin’s eyes. Renjun found his name in no time. His face immediately dropped as he read the name ‘Na Jaemin’ next to his name.  
Jaemin had a very similar reaction but it soon turned into a smug smirk.  
Renjun turned around to face Jaemin and was met with that disgusting smirk.

“I will make this hell for you. I don’t care.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took me so long to update, I suddenly got motivation to write this again!  
There is more to come so I hope you enjoy!  


There was nothing Renjun could do. He begged, pleaded and tried to reason with the teacher to switch partners. He even suggested doing the project by himself, but every cry for help was rejected by the teacher.This was all while Jaemin was watching him with an amused look on his face. She mentioned that if he failed to work with his partner and turn in a project it was an automatic dropping from the class. Defeated, Renjun slowly exited the classroom and started to walk outside. He had no set destination but he wanted to get out of here. He could hear Jaemin’s footsteps following him and it made him more annoyed than he was already. Renjun came to an abrupt stop as did Jaemin. Turning around, Renjun’s eyes met with Jaemin and he didn’t really know what to say or where to begin. He briefly wondered if he should apologize but that was out of the question. He did not want to apologize for something he fought for. Renjun opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out at first. Jaemin just watched Renjun with the same stupid smirk on his face. It was almost as if it were stuck there. 

“We have to do this project so...We have to like work together..”   
“I don’t care what you have to do..I’ll just go home.”

Jaemin responded back, crossing his arms. Renjun recognized that it was really similar to what he said to Jaemin earlier. He didn’t even know how to respond after that, so he replied with the truth.   
“Listen..School is just so much money for me and I really need to succeed so please..You need to pass this class too right? It’s a waste of money to fail.” Renjun started to plead.

“So what? It’s not that much money,” Jaemin started, his face of amusement turning into a face of boredom. “I don’t need to pass and so what if I fail. I’ll just take it again...It’s not even a big deal.”   
Renjun’s blood boiled as he heard Jaemin’s statement. “What the hell do you mean? This is everything for me.” He growled and started to glare at Jaemin. “It’s a shit ton of money but you wouldn’t know since you probably get your mommy to pay for it.”   
“Keep my mother out of your fucking mouth.” Jaemin glared back at Renjun and continued. Obviously this had greatly upset him. “School is nothing for me. I’m just going because my dad wants me to. I’m here to party and have fun..” Jaemin paused for a moment. 

“I kind of feel bad for your parents..They have to support a rude little shit like you.” 

“I don’t care. At least I’m not you Na Jaemin.” 

Renjun was out of there before anything else could be said. He was pissed off to the max and nothing could calm him down at that moment in time. Tears were forming in his eyes as he ran off. A million thoughts were running through his head, but he could only think of one. He wanted to do well for his parents and for himself and it felt like he was already failing them. It had been a few years since they had passed away but the news of them passing always felt like yesterday. His thoughts were interrupted when he had accidentally bumped into someone. He fell to his knees and accidentally dropped his notebook on the ground. 

“Are you okay?”

Renjun couldn’t even snap out of his toxic train of thought. He slowly stood back onto his feet and then dusted himself off. He glanced at the blond stranger and realized it was the other guy from table earlier this morning.   
“Yeah..Sorry.” 

Jeno stared at the stranger and all of his movements. He was kind of worried since the boy was moving slowly. Jeno quickly latched his hands onto the stranger’s arm to help him up. “Are you hurt?” Jeno finally got a look of the stranger’s face and he was shocked to see tears running down his face. The boy looked so distraught and it made Jeno’s heart ache. “Um are you-”

Before Jeno could finish his sentence, Renjun hurriedly broke contact with the other boy and started to run off again. This time he succeeded in leaving campus and across the street to his motorbike. He gave the school one last glance before unchaining his bike and speeding off onto the road. 

♥

“What? So you’re telling me some idiot ran into you, dropped their notebook and dashed without it?” Jaemin chuckled lowly as he laid back in his chair. “I wonder if there is something secretive in there..Did you look inside of it yet.” 

Jeno sighed, holding the phone up to his ear in one hand and on the other one, he had the notebook resting in his hand. “Don’t call him an idiot. He..He looked like he was having a rough time. He was crying too..I feel bad, Jaem.” Jeno sighed once again, not being able to get the look out of the stranger’s face out of his head. “And no I didn’t. Isn’t that too personal?” 

“Well how the hell are you supposed to find out who’s it is? Check for a name loser.” Jaemin responded as he stretched his legs out. “Crying..That’s funnnnnyyy..Jeno why do you sound like you like this guy..Do you?” He couldn’t help but laugh again but this time it was much more quieter. “Just check. What could this man write on the first day? No one even writes on the first day.” 

Jeno put his phone on speaker mode and placed it beside him. He then opened the first page and didn’t see a name.Jeno decided to completely ignore Jaemin’s childish comment about liking this guy. He then continued to search but all he could see were notes mostly about music theory. “This kid seems like he knows a bit about music. Like a decent amount..” He took a deep breath before speaking again. “His handwriting is neat..Oh look..Seems like there’s a project due in like 3 weeks..” Jeno kept reading, his hands slowly turning the pages. “Opposites attract..huh…”

Jaemin’s eyes widened a little bit. “Hey..This kid has to be in my class.. That’s literally the same thing we went over today.” He sat up now, wondering what else Jeno could find. “What else Jen?”

Jeno kept reading to a point that read ‘Project partner.’ It seems that the author heavily scribbled out the name and it honestly seemed a bit excessive with huge x marks and the page was very worn in that area. It even scratched through to the next page. “Hm...Yeah there’s literally no name here.” Jeno sighed softly, wondering if the kid would be okay without his notes.

“Let me take it with me on Wednesday, that’s the next time I have that class.” Jaemin suggested to his friend, but was surprised to hear Jeno refuse the offer. 

“I’ll take care of it Jaemin don’t worry.”   
“Alright..Weirdo. Anyways I’ll catch you later.”   
They both hung up the phone at the same time and went their separate ways. Jeno got up from his bed and placed the notebook into his bookbag. Maybe he would be able to bump into the stranger again soon but who knows. He was surprised to not be able to at least find a name in the book, but hopefully he would see this boy again sometime. Jeno laid back in his bed and stared at the ceiling and thought again about the crying boy’s face.He wondered why his heart hurted for this stranger but he couldn’t help but think about it and wonder if he was okay.   
<3

Before he knew it, Renjun found himself at the beach. He parked his motorbike in the vacant parking lot and took off his jacket as well as his socks and shoes. He started to walk through the sand, the wind blowing harshly in the direction of his face. This caused his hair to flap back and forth, sometimes hitting his face. The waves in the ocean crashed against the beach rapidly. This was no weather for a trip to the beach and Renjun knew it. He was too distraught to think straight at the moment. This beach was his go to when he was having a rough time and no one really came around here anyways. He continued walking through the sand, his feet sinking into the cold grains of the earth. His feet finally reached the edge where the waves were hitting. The water had touched his toes and his first thought was that it was cold. Before he could take another step, he had heard a voice call out to him and he briefly thought it was all in his head. That was, until he turned around and saw some tall, blond stranger running towards him. He was wondering why but he realized what the stranger might’ve thought while looking at him. Renjun slowly took some steps away from the waves just enough for him to come over to the stranger. Renjun quietly scanned the stranger, looking him head to toe. He was quite tall (taller than himself), blond, and wearing mostly black. Before Renjun could open his mouth to clear the air and explain himself, the stranger took off his jacket and put it around Renjun. 

“It’s not exactly the type of weather to come to the beach. It’s early fall and no one else is here,” The stranger locked eyes with Renjun. “ I don’t know exactly what you’re thinking but stay here, I’ll be back.” 

And with that, the stranger had dashed off, leaving Renjun on the beach alone. He let out an exhausted laugh as he lowered himself down to his knees. He then sat down in the sand and zipped up the zipper of the jacket he was now borrowing.It was warm and slightly bigger than his own size, but mostly, it was comfortable and it smelled pretty nice. It’s not like he could go anywhere or do anything now, he didn’t want the stranger to get back and see that he had disappeared.   
The stranger was back now, he had a box in his left arm, holding it against his body, and in his right hand he was holding most of Renjun’s belongings that he left by his bike. He gently set down everything next to Renjun and then set the box down in front of himself before sitting next to Renjun.   
It took Renjun 2 minutes to put his socks and shoes on, and afterwards he took off the stranger’s jacket and put on his own. He tried to give back the jacket but the stranger declined, which caused him to put it back on. He felt nice and toasty now. Renjun watched the stranger take a beer out and open it. It was in his hands not even 4 seconds later. Renjun gave a curious look to the stranger before opening his mouth but he wasn’t even granted a second to speak before the stranger spoke again. 

“Shhh..Don’t say anything just drink.” 

And so Renjun did. He drank 5 cans and he was a little more than buzzed. He hummed softly to himself as he held the can tightly in his hand. Renjun swayed slightly, right to left, over and over again. He had a huge smile plastered on his face but it looked slightly sad. He felt numb but he felt way better than earlier, However, he couldn’t shake the sadness of missing his parents. Suddenly he stood up and ran to the shore and the stranger chased him, fumbling to get out of the sand. The stranger placed his hands on Renjun’s shoulders making sure he wouldn’t run into the sea. 

“Mom. Dad. I miss you.”

He spoke in his mother tongue as sobbed at the sea. He felt the tears stinging at his eyes, and his throat started to burn like he was about to cry.   
The stranger’s ears perked up as he heard Renjun speak his mother language; he instantly recognized it. 

“I’m sure your parents miss you too.” The stranger replied back in Renjun’s mother tongue. This made Renjun surprised but comforted by the fact that someone understood him. He broke out in tears, falling down to his knees, the waves crashing into him. 

The stranger quickly swooped Renjun up and scooted him back so he wouldn’t get entirely soaked. The two sat in the sand for the next 30 minutes. Renjun was on and off crying and apologizing for his actions until he eventually fell asleep. The stranger didn’t even get to ask where Renjun lived or much of anything before he passed out, but he did see the boy’s phone sticking out of his pocket. The stranger cautiously took the phone out of Renjun’s pocket and went straight into his contact info. Luckily for him, he saw that the boy didn’t have many contacts. One was labeled ‘BOSS’ and one was labeled ‘Brother’. He ended up calling the contact that said brother. There was only one ring before the other line picked up. 

“Renjun?” Chenle spoke into the phone, his voice sounding wary. “You never call me..Is everything okay?” 

‘Ah, So Renjun is his name.’ The stranger thought before speaking into the phone. “Ah yes..Hello. Renjun is here. He is with me..He fell asleep a little while ago and I didn’t really get a lot of info before then..Is there somewhere I can drop him off?” 

“Ah thank you so much for calling me...Ah..Is that so? Okay.” Chenle tensed up as he didn’t know who was on the other line. He was grateful that the stranger wanted to help, but he was also concerned as Renjun never really spoke to other and didn’t befriend other people. All the sudden he was receiving a call that Renjun was asleep and there was someone on the line that was with Renjun while he was asleep. He quickly intercepted the stranger. “Where are you? I will come pick him up.” 

The stranger quickly gave the location into the phone and as soon as those words came out of his mouth, Chenle pretty much hung up the phone. The stranger sighed and watched over Renjun as he waited.Renjun mumbled and stirred in his sleep like he was going to wake up, but he didn’t. The sun had already set and it was getting really dark. He wondered if this was really a wise idea, but what was done was done.   
Not even 10 minutes later, a car pulled into the spot next to Renjun’s motorbike. Chenle nearly jumped out of his seat and started running down to the shore where he saw the silhouette of a man and someone laying down. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of a Renjun that was out cold and a tall blond stranger.   
“Who are you?”   
“My name..Is Lucas.”

There was a brief awkward silence as the two looked at each other. Chenle couldn’t explain it but he felt uneasy. He slowly crouched down. “Help Renjun on my back.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the empty beer cans. ‘They were drinking..’ He thought to himself silently.   
Lucas was going to offer to carry Renjun to the car, but he already sensed that this guy was off edge, and didn’t trust him. He bent down and started to help Renjun onto the boy’s back, trying not to wake him up. 

It was a short walk from the beach to the car. Lucas followed the two, making sure he wouldn’t need help before he dashed. He ended up opening the door for the boy so he could sit Renjun in the seat and buckle him up.   
Chenle looked over at Renjun’s bike and sighed as it wouldn’t fit into his car. He made a mental note that he would drive Renjun to it the next day so he could pick it up. Chenle looked over at Lucas who was still standing over by the beach. 

“Um..Thanks for your help..I can give you-”  
“No it’s nothing. Really. I don’t need anything in return.”

Chenle didn’t know why but Lucas’s words felt cold. It didn’t matter though, he was ready to go home and get Renjun in the safety of their apartment. 

“Goodbye Lucas. Thank you.”   
“Good night.” 

And with that, Chenle got into the car and drove off.


End file.
